Sony Needs to Up the 1st Party Ante for PS4

So with Microsoft still desperately trying to repair its image and Nintendo seemingly trying anything to tarnish theirs, we have Sony front and center ready to make their strike.

Sony, coming off a good report about their overall profits despite the game division hitting about even, are finally on the upswing and ready to take on the eighth generation with their nicely priced Playstation 4.


However…


There is this troubling thing about the E3 conference that still lingers: their games. Kingdom Hearts 3 was their big announcement----but this is also an Xbox One game. Metal Hear Solid 5 also turned some heads during E3---but that’s also an Xbox One title. Their biggest titles were The Last of Us and Gran Turismo 6---which are actually PS3 games. Oh but there’s Final Fantasy---wait, never mind.

Now there’s no way that me and potentially other gamers closely following this war are going to spend money on a Microsoft machine for a nice period of time. Ugly incident with the DRM issue, high price tag, and my continuing trust issues with the company.


However….


What awesome, must-purchase exclusive Playstation 4 game was announced? Anyone? There was no next-gen Uncharted, no next-gen Ratchet and Clank, no next-gen Jak and Daxter, no next-gen Sly Cooper, and lastly we aren’t even sure if their biggest franchise (Gran Turismo) is getting a release within the first year on the new machine. All we got was the new Killzone, which is still a few layers below the other first-person shooter franchises like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Halo. I know that Sony pretty much fired all their best work in the last leg of the PS3’s lifespan, leaving all the first and second-party companies scrambling for time with the new system coming out. If Sony wants to remove all momentum from Microsoft, they need to build up their first-party lineup for a full attack.

The PS3 surprisingly had the best blend of first and second-party games this previous generation, an award usually given to Nintendo (After all, Nintendo always survives solely because they can game-build their way out of any issue). Between Gran Turismo 5, Little Big Planet, and the spectacular Uncharted trilogy the Playstation 3 was saved by a second wave of video games that propelled the entire company past Microsoft for the silver medal in the seventh generation.

But if they want to accomplish this success once again starting this holiday season, depending on third-party games that you are going to see on the competition is not the right way to go. Sony dropped the ball by not withholding some of these great exclusives for the next generation, especially Gran Turismo 6. Call of Duty, Madden, Elder Scrolls, Battlefield, NBA 2K, and Rockstar’s games sold better on the 360 than on the PS3. And with the Xbox One not being a restricting prick of a console, Microsoft is starting to stand toe to toe with Sony.


Sony, you don’t need to have another PS3 on your hands. What you need to do is kill em’ with exclusives, early, and with rapid succession. Otherwise, it will be hard to separate yourself from the pack.




P.S. You need to kill the Vita to cut the bleeding. The embarrassing 14% market share just won't cut it.